Gruyere Produces First Ore, Remains on Schedule

The Gruyere gold asset, a joint venture (JV) between Gold Road Resources (ASX:GOR) and Gruyere Mining Company, a subsidiary of Gold Fields (NYSE:GFI), has produced its first ore on time.

According to a joint statement from the JV partners, construction on Gruyere’s processing plant and infrastructure is over 91 percent complete. Contractor Downer EDI (ASX:DOW) began double-shift operations as part of mining production ramp up.

Construction in the project’s primary crusher area is “substantially” complete, while ore commissioning of the primary crusher to coarse ore stockpile circuit is currently in progress.

The last pieces of construction to be completed are in the milling, CIL and elution areas, which include piping, electrical and instrumentation installations, along with system and equipment commissioning.

The companies said a significant amount of ore is to be stockpiled to de-risk the project leading up to first gold production, which is scheduled to take place in the June 2019 quarter. Gruyere remains on schedule in terms of production and within its estimated cost estimates.

Located approximately 200 kilometers east of Laverton in Western Australia, Gruyere has a mineral resource of 144 million tonnes grading 1.3 grams per tonne for 5.9 million ounces of contained gold. The project was discovered by Gold Road in 2013, and in November 2016 the company sold a 50-percent stake to Gold Fields for AU$350 million.

Gold Fields manages the project and the mine’s operations, while Gold Road holds responsibility for exploration on the JV tenements.

The project, which began construction in 2017, is expected to produce 85,000 to 120,000 ounces of gold during 2019, and is anticipated to hit 300,000 ounces annually upon reaching steady state production.

Gold Road’s share price closed 5.76 percent higher on Tuesday (January 29), ending the day at AU$0.735.

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Securities Disclosure: I, Olivia Da Silva, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.